Chapter 2203: Qiming merges? Wei and Song attitudes
Respecting Han and respecting Qin are two completely different paths.
After Qin Hao proclaimed himself emperor, if Cao Cao still claimed to be a Han official and continued to respect the Han Dynasty, it would mean that he had completely offended the Qin State.
Wei is surrounded by Qin on three sides, and is still dependent on Qin in many aspects. If Qin is really completely offended, Qin's anger is not something Wei can bear, and the country may be in danger of subjugation.
If you respect Qin, the situation Wei will face will be much better. Although Qin will still attack Wei in the future, at least not before digesting the land of Hebei, Wei can at least buy a few years to prepare.
Therefore, although Cao Cao said he had two choices, in reality there was only one choice for Wei, and that was to respect Qin.
Although Cao Cao and his counselors were extremely unwilling to accept this, they were bound to be stronger.
The Qin State, which has occupied the land of Hebei, has achieved great success and has the power to dominate the world. Even if all the princes join forces, they may not be their opponents.
What's more, the contradictions between the major princes are deep-rooted, they are at odds with each other, and they are constantly fighting openly and secretly. It is impossible to unite in a short time.
Thinking of this, Cao Cao sighed in his heart and secretly made up his mind to completely get rid of Wei's dependence on Qin and completely eliminate Zhu Ming and occupy the Qingxu land before Qin finished digesting Hebei and sent troops to the Central Plains. There is no hope of fighting against the Qin army.
The war between the Wei and Song Dynasties in the Central Plains was not in vain. Although they failed to completely destroy the Ming Dynasty, they also took a large piece of flesh from the Ming Dynasty, but the process was extremely difficult.
The Jianghuai Granary was divided into three counties by the Ming Dynasty, namely: Shouchun County in Huaixi, Jiujiang County in Huainan, and Yinling County in Huaibei.
At present, the seven counties of Shouchun County in Huaixi have been occupied by the Song State. The Song State has also sent the capital to Shouchun, vowing not to give up until Jianghuai is taken.
Wei State captured the eight counties of Pengcheng County in Xuzhou. Pengcheng County was also a major grain-producing county. Together with the grain and grass support from its ally Song State, this greatly eased Wei State's food pressure and no longer needed to rely on Qin. The state has purchased grain.
In the Central Plains War, the Wei, Song and Ming dynasties fought so hard that both sides suffered losses. Although they failed to destroy the Ming dynasty, they took away the land of two Ming dynasties.
Both the Wei and Song Dynasties were able to grow stronger, while the Ming Kingdom was weakened. Under the circumstances, the Ming Kingdom would only become weaker and weaker, and it would only be a matter of time before it was destroyed.
What Cao Cao and Zhao Kuangyin never expected was that the relationship between Qi and Ming, which originally supported Ming, would become closer and closer. King Zhu Tianpeng of Qi actually had the idea of merging Qi into Ming.
After learning this, Cao Cao and Zhao Kuangyin almost collapsed.
I worked so hard, using hundreds of thousands of troops, and suffered countless casualties, that I only robbed you of Zhu Di's two counties, but Zhu Tianpeng turned around and took the three Qingnan counties to join him directly.
There were originally eight counties in the Ming Dynasty, namely: five counties in Xuzhou and three counties in Jianghuai;
After losing two counties, there were still six counties left, but three more counties in Qingnan were added, turning it into a country of nine counties.
Based on this calculation, the strength of the Ming Kingdom has not been weakened, but has been strengthened.
How could Cao Cao and Zhao Kuangyin not be envious and jealous?
The Three Kingdoms of the Central Plains, the Ming Kingdom and the Wei and Song Dynasties have long been in a fight to the death. Unless the Wei and Song Dynasties return the stolen land to the Ming Kingdom, there is no possibility of the three countries joining forces, but it is even more impossible for the Wei and Song Dynasties to return the lost territory.
Since the three countries are destined to be unable to join forces, they can only let one side out, and the other two countries will join forces to integrate the power of the entire Central Plains. Only in this way can they fight against the powerful Qin.
If you want to destroy the Ming Dynasty, it is not enough to rely on the power of Wei alone. You must join forces with the Song Dynasty to achieve it.
It is conceivable that the alliance between Wei and Song will be unbreakable for a long time to come.
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Song Dynasty, Huaixi County, Shouchun City.
After paying an extremely heavy price, Zhao Kuangyin finally occupied Shouchun City and decided to use this city as the capital.
After the news from the Qin State came, Zhao Kuangyin, like Cao Cao, immediately summoned his subordinates Zhao Pu, Yan Xiang and other counselors to discuss. If Qin Hao proclaimed himself emperor, would the Song State respect Qin or Han?
The situation of Song State and Wei State were completely different. Although they also traded with Qin State, their dependence on Qin State was far less serious than that of Wei State.
In terms of terrain, although the Song State also borders the Qin State, the border area is not large. There are only two counties, Nanyang and Zhangling. Unlike the Wei State, which is directly surrounded by the Qin State on three sides.
Therefore, even if Qin and Song really turned against each other, Qin could not sanction Song like it did Wei.
Song State did not have no choice like Wei State, but Song State was still involved in internal disputes. The reason was that its ally Wei State had chosen to respect Qin.
Wei is Song's only ally. If Song respected the Han, it would undoubtedly be isolated and helpless in the Central Plains.
"This Cao Ah Man is really spineless. Before Qin Hao even punched him, he knelt down."
Zhao Kuangyin cursed with a look of displeasure on his face. Cao Cao's kneeling had forced his Song State to its knees. Whether he respected Qin or Han, it was not a good path for him.
Zhao Puze said: "Wei seems to be powerful, but in fact it is strong on the outside and weak on the inside. It is okay against the Ming State, but it is vulnerable to the Qin State. Cao Mengde actually has no choice at all. This is also the bitter fruit of his own doing."
"Yes, the Wei State is surrounded by the Qin State on three sides. If a war breaks out, there is no way it can be defended. How can Cao Mengde have the courage to fall out with Qin Hao." Yan Xiang sighed lightly.
Zhao Kuangyin also knew how difficult it was for Cao Cao, so he did not get too entangled in Cao Cao's respect for Qin. He asked, "Then how should we, the Song Dynasty, deal with ourselves?"
Zhao Pu and Yan Xiang looked at each other and said in unison: "Respect Qin."
Zhao Kuangyin's strategy was not low. After hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood the intentions of the military advisors.
For the Song State, there was no difference between respecting Qin and respecting Han, but the benefits gained from respecting Qin were even greater.
"Oh, that's all it can do."
A trace of unwillingness flashed across Zhao Kuangyin's face, and after sighing, he ordered: "Come here to draw up a decree. Zhao Kuangyin, Duke of Song Dynasty, supports King Qin's ascension to the throne..."
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The Song State made the same choice as the Wei State, but the Wu State, which was also an ally of the Qin State, fell into silence after receiving the news, neither supporting nor opposing, with an ambiguous attitude that made people daydream.
The attitudes of the three kingdoms of Chu, Tang and Sui were surprisingly consistent. Among them, King Liu Xiu of Chu even angrily cursed Qin Hao as a Han traitor in public.
As for the Kingdom of Shu, King Liu Ji of Shu was shot by Qin general Zhao Yun with an arrow in the battle of Xiangyang. He was seriously injured and dying. He has not yet woken up.
Liu Ji's coma also plunged the Chengdu court into turmoil. There were even rumors that the King of Shu was dead, and it was only Chen Ping and others who conspired to usurp power that kept the mourning secret.
King Liu Yu of Chengdu, who had always been reticent, could not be sure whether Liu Ji was dead, but it was an indisputable fact that the Chengdu court was in turmoil, which allowed him to see an opportunity to revenge against Liu Ji.
(End of chapter)
